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Where are Kevin and Ruth right now? Calderitas (Chetumal), Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Where are they going next? Xpujl, Campeche, Mexico. Arriving February 20th.

Sunday, January 21, 2018

Third largest pyramid in the world...

Day two of our whirlwind two day trip to Mexico City. Knowing that the bus was picking us up at our downtown hotel at 8:30am, we had to get some breakfast before leaving. Hotel breakfasts are often a bit pricey, so Ruth and I went out in search of something a little more local.

We didn't have much success. It turns out that on a Saturday morning in the central area, even the breakfast places don't seem to open up until after 8:30am. I'm quite certain it's different Monday to Friday, but on Saturdays things are definitely a bit slower.

So we finally spotted a cafe breakfast spot, and we were pretty much already sat down when we realized that it was associated with another hotel! Oh well... we were running out of time by now and we needed to eat. So we stayed there. The hot chocolate was delicious, and the eggs were okay, but the refried beans were terrible. Neither of us finished them. Still, for 150 pesos ($10.00 CAD, $8.00 USD) for the two of us with tip included, it wasn't too bad.

We met the group, and everybody boarded the bus. First stop was the Basilica Santa Maria de Guadalupe.

This is the most important Catholic religious location in the world, next to the Vatican. Or at least, to the Mexicans, it is!

The "new" Basilica was built in 1976.

The old church beside it dates to 1750.

Pilgrimages to the shrine have been ongoing almost uninterrupted since the year 1532.

From Wikipedia...

The Basilica of Guadalupe claims to possess Saint Juan Diego's mantle or cloak on which an image of the Virgin is said to have been impressed by a miracle as a pledge of the authenticity of the apparitions. These apparitions and the imparting of the miraculous image are the basis of the veneration of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which is ubiquitous in Mexico, prevalent throughout the Spanish-speaking Americas, and increasingly widespread beyond. As a result, the Basilica of Guadalupe is now the world's major center of pilgrimage for Roman Catholics, receiving 22 million visitors in 2010. Juan Diego was beatified in 1990 and canonized in 2002.

A service was ongoing inside.

This is what everybody comes to see.

The original church is sinking.

Many older buildings in Mexico City are continuously sinking. This church is obvious. When you are in it, it seems like you are walking uphill. Even in the picture above, you can see the stone on the right side, which is not visible on the left side.

Hmm. Things look a little crooked!

Probably more interesting for people who follow that religion, however we are always intrigued by the architecture and the culture.

By the time we left, it was after 10:00am.

Time to head to the ruins of Teotihuacan.

Hard to take decent pictures out of the bus.

Too much reflection. The suburbs of Mexico City.

Before the ruins, we stopped at an artisans co-operative.

Some really neat stuff. Check out this Jesus carved into a living tree...

Now this is art.

So is this.

The artisans make replicas of some of the artifacts that have been found in the ruins around the country. The work is amazing. The stuff is not cheap... in fact while in the store, I searched out the most expensive piece... priced at 225,000 pesos ($15k CAD, $12k USD). And then I got sidetracked and forgot to take a photo of it!

We had a really good buffet lunch, and then it was off to Teotihuacan...

Beautiful sunny day.

The Pyramid of the Moon.

Ruth and I ran over and climbed up!

View from the Pyramid of the Moon.

The Pyramid of the Sun.

Zoomed in.

It's pretty busy here on a Saturday!

Some of the smaller structures.

Ruth, holding on to the rope on the way down.

Third largest pyramid in the world.

Getting near the top.

Ruth, with her new $2 hat!

Ruth had forgot to bring a hat. They sell a variety of tourist trinkets, and Ruth found a sun hat for 30 pesos ($2.00 CAD, $1.60 USD)!

Looking up at some girls at the top calling for the sun god!

Looking back at the Pyramid of the Moon.

Our group in front of the Pyramid of the Moon.

Today is another travel day. I always wonder what adventure is coming up on a travel day. We're headed to the beach on the Emerald Coast. Our interior days are over for a while and we'll be following the Gulf coast down to Campeche and Merida over the next few weeks.

Wow that is quite the climb. Do not think we could have walked up to the top. Absolutely beautiful however. We saw Tulum when we cruised the Caribbean several years ago that also was quite impressive. Lovely pictures thank you. Enjoy your travels.

Very impressive pyramid! We have been to Palenque in Mexico and Lamanai in Belize, but not this one (or Mexico City at all). I love doing the big climbs too. I really like the pastel "ice cream" colors of the Mexico City suburbs -- I had no idea those colors were used for the houses there, as they are in the Bahamas and some other spots. Very nice!

A friend of mine had four daughters. Her husband wanted a boy (another part of the culture). She went to the Basilica in Mexico and prayed for a boy. She said she promised the Virgin de Guadalupe that if she had a boy she would crawl up the steps on her knees every year of her life on his birthday. She gave birth to a boy and made good on her promise. She passed away three years ago at the ripe age of 88. The only thing she changed was the location to the local basilica here in Monterrey because of her age. True story.

Wow, cool story! It is funny, we have heard a lot about people crawling up on their knees but out of all the people there we didn't see or notice anyone doing that. Sure did see lots of little children in baptism outfits though.

Paul and I didn’ attempt to climb the pyramids when we were there.....it was a sweltering 30C and we had walked around the ruins for a good hour already. So we just admired the view and was content to gaze at the climbers. Haha.

We generally find that if you go to some of these sites early in the morning it is cooler and less crowded. Not everyone wants to climb the pyramid and there's nothing wrong with that. At least you got to see it which is more than most people. :-)

Everybody was ready to go right on time again. We pulled out just before 9:00am onto the busy pot-holed road towards Veracruz. It's amaz...

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